People Share Their Stories

Our Place - Newtown - Zena Sachs

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Zena grew up in King Street, Newtown, where her parents owned a shop. (It was a draper's shop, called "London-Paris"). Her parents had migrated from Poland via the UK. (Nobody had any papers or anything, there were no birth certificates or passports and they had to be smuggled over the border into Prussia.) Zena can remember the later years of WWI and the post war period. (The uniforms were terrible I remember they had to have putties, they were like a flannel bandage, they didn't wear socks.) She also talks about family life (Dad talked politics so much …He used to argue with everybody). With an excellent memory, Zena also provides a detailed picture of life in Newtown more generally. It's a very colourful account.